OUT NOW!

I am delighted to say that Volume 4 of the Owners series is out now and available as an ebook and in paperback.

New book release.

Well I promised you big things this year, and I like to keep my word. 

Girl Displaced is a book I thought I might never actually finish. I started it several years ago and I think I only got as far as the first few paragraphs before I had to put it aside to write a film for a client. When I managed to get back to it I completed the first few pages before I had to put it aside again. 

It was years before I returned, just last year. I was determined to sit down and write it. So I cleared my schedule for a few weeks and wrote hard and fast. The result is the book you see today. 

Girl Displaced marries two worlds I know so well - Birmingham and the Ayrshire coast - and tells a tale of a girl who no longer rightfully belongs in either. I hope you enjoy it. x

RTS award nomination

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce that Just James has been nominated for an RTS award.  

I created and wrote this story a few years ago but it's always remained in my heart.  

Author interview.

Introducing author Rita Lee Chapman. 

Rita is the author of seven books. Here, I have the pleasure of interviewing her. 

How long have you been interviewing authors? 

I started running interviews on my website in 2013 and have featured a different author each week ever since.

Why do authors interest you so much? 

It’s interesting to learn how other authors plan their writing, what they do when they are not reading or writing and to read excerpts of their work. 

Have you ever written anything yourself, or do you have any ambitions to do so? 

I have self-published seven books since 2012.  I have written a four-part series, the Anna Davies Mystery Series, a book for horse lovers and two crime mysteries.

Do you have certain expectations of how an author will be, due to the type or genre of writing they do? 

To an extent.  For example, I think mystery writers are usually quite different from those who write, say, sci-fi.

 Have you ever been disappointed with an interview and why? 

A couple of interviews contained very short answers which tend to come across as a little stilted.

 Do you feel that most authors are honest about themselves? 

I like to think so!

Have you ever wished that an interview went differently to how it did? 

Unfortunately I don’t get to speak to these authors.  I send them a list of questions and they answer the ones that interest them, so unless they are extremely abrupt I’m usually pleased with the outcome.

Have you ever discovered someone you thought you could be friends with, or conversely who you instinctively didn't like, from their answers? 

Yes, quite often I come across an author I can relate to.  They often find me through Goodreads or Facebook so sometimes we catch up again.

Having interviewed so many, you must get a sense of which authors will do well and which won't. Have you been proved right? 

There are some authors whose path I cross quite regularly but I don’t make a point of following the careers of so many authors!  Some of course are notable for their beautiful writing style.

And finally, who would you have loved to interview but can't (Dickens etc)?

I would have to say Colleen McCullough.  One of my favourite books is The Thorn Birds, which had a lasting effect on me. 

Can you tell us where we can read your interviews? 

Guest Authors are posted on my website at http://www.ritaleechapman.com

And anything else you want to add.

If any authors are reading this and would like an interview, please contact me through the website.

The Anna Davies Mystery Series:  Missing in Egypt, Missing at Sea, Missing in London, Missing in France.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083RQ2QDG/

 

Winston – A Horse’s Tale, for horse lovers from teenagers upwards

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G9QOZGE

 

The Poinciana Tree, a crime mystery

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XGGY2PZ

 

Dangerous Associations, a crime mystery

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1501062905

Episode 3: Dinner at Ate...

Here is the episode I wrote with the lovely Louise Osbourne, as part three of the short series, #GoingViral. I hope you enjoy it!

Hopefully, as we come out of lockdown I will have more news. 

Until then, happy viewing! x

                                 

Taken with kind permission from the blog of Uncial Press, publishers of Ascension.

There are some fascinating novels based on a single action changing history. No, we aren’t talking about time travel, but about speculative stories that look at a single event and postulate what might have happened if the outcome had been different. One term for it is “alternate history.”
Alternate history is usually classed as science fiction, and we can’t argue with that, even though often there’s no science in it. Some the oldies we remember are Ward Moore’s Bring the Jubilee, The Gate of Worlds by Robert Silverberg, and Tunnel Through the Deeps by Harry Harrison. Personally, our favorite is A Midsummer Tempest by Poul Anderson; an original hardcover edition still resides on Jude’s bookshelves.

Sometimes a story isn’t strictly “alternate history” because the event that changed history isn’t part of it. Is that really important? Perhaps we can apply the theory that each decision creates a new possibility and myriad almost-parallel worlds lies side by side, but isolated from each other. And if you can accept that, it’s easy to accept stories that take place on Earth, but a different Earth from the one we currently exist on. After all, isn’t all fiction more or less like that? There are far more dukes in Regency romances than ever existed in the real England, nowhere near as many serial killers (thank goodness) in our world as in the many thrillers and mysteries about them, and not a whole lot of vampires walking the streets of our hometowns. Yet we accept all those alternate views of reality because they are entertaining, interesting, gripping.

Where are we going with this? As a matter of fact, this month’s release started us thinking about alternate history and alternate worlds, mostly because we couldn’t figure out quite what to call it. As far as we know, there is no place on our Earth with a society like it describes, but there could have been. Oh, yes, there could have been, for nothing is impossible.


In Ascension, Carmen Capuano describes a believable society with a structure of law intended to protect its citizens from the wages of sin and chaos. Everyone accepts the societal definitions of right and wrong until Jessica, a young woman with the unusual ability to see the color of people’s souls, realizes that a friend’s life will be destroyed by blind obedience to the law. With that realization comes questions, and those questions lead her on a quest. What she finds may threaten the whole fabric of society. The choice she makes could destroy her world. (Ascension, $6.99. ISBN 978-1-60174-2255-4).

We love mystery-thrillers, particularly those with just a touch of romance. Our March release fits that description nicely. Al Haggerty’s debut book, The Failover File, has industrial sabotage, plane crashes, billionaire industrialists, and a couple of federal agents who can’t be bought. What more does one need for a satisfying read? Oh, yes, there’s romance in there too.
And remember, we’ve always got a bunch of good (Uncial Press) ebooks for you to read. Stay tuned…

Star & Jude

A new review!

Here is a review which has just been sent to me. It is from a Year 8 school teacher who read one of my books.

"The Owners, Volume I is a page turner of a read. The structure of the novel being a double narrative perspective leap-frogging chapter by chapter, really hooks the reader.

I thought it was beautifully written with wonderful use of imagery. For example, 'The drone of an insect outside served to shatter the silence, its drum a seeming answer to the staccato drumbeat of his heart'.  The musical term 'staccato' conveyed to the reader how fast the boy's heart was throbbing with fright.

This is a novel ideal for the young adult readership, as there were elements of peril interspersed with loving relationships and concepts of what makes us human. I thought there were many thought provoking elements such as making us think about our own relationships with our own pets. There is also the added feature of the mystery about the Eyons, who are they? Who controls them? And why? These questions leave the reader wanting to read the second volume, which is an excellent hook into the forthcoming series.

Overall, I would thoroughly recommend the book to my students, although there were a few 'typos' which need to be edited out. Having said that, I was so engrossed with the plot and turn of phrase that the 'typos' did not get in the way."

Mrs Sterenberg. Aston Fields Middle School.

So folks there you have it... if you haven't yet read it, you really should. :)

A new review.

Here is the latest Split Decision review which has come in:

"Split Decision is one of the most enticing books I have ever read. I couldn't wait to immerse myself in it every night. An absolutely brilliant book! Thoroughly recommended!"

 

Zena Weeks, Special Projects Manager, England Athletics.

 

 

I'm so glad you liked it Zena! Thank you!